ve As part of Assignment 4, I will be reworking some aspects of my strategy based on feedback provided by Will and Fan in Week 9 that was beyond helpful.

The article that Fan linked to me shed more light on the inner workings of the TikTok algorithm.

As I have predicted, engagement ranks low on the list of key factors that contribute to the popularity of a TikTok post, while factors that I have yet to consider, rank high. Below are the new factors that tested out and incorporated into my strategy.

1) Completion of Views

A shorter, snappier video will undeniably help to garner more points in this area, as the probability that TikTok users stay till the end will be higher. This also works hand in hand with a repeated view.

2) Repeated Views

The notion that repeated views rank highest on TikTok’s algorithm implies that as long as the video gets viewers to rewatch over and over, it would help immensely with contributing to the success of a TikTok post. Whether it be content that is confusing to grasp yet interesting (i.e. too quick to catch), sounds that are insanely catchy, or sped-up videos that are extremely satisfying to watch.

The idea is that a video that gets more repeated views will be promoted to other users more often, as opposed to one that gets more unique views.

On top of that, getting a repeated view also assures that the previous view was one that is complete, strengthening the power of a repeated view in the algorithm by twofold. So for instance,

1 unrepeated (incomplete view) = 1 incomplete view

1 unrepeated (complete) view  = 1 completed view

1 repeated view = 1 completed view + 1 repeated view

Either way, repeated views are difficult to guarantee, but I decided to go ahead with testing out the inclusion of this factor in my strategy.

In order to employ this tactic, I uploaded a TikTok that might take a couple of rounds of rewatching to fully understand. The content-type was somewhat of a “hidden gem” hack situation that is short and sweet. Users would have to be focused on reading the caption first, and subsequently re-watching the video to take note of what I am doing or vice versa.

@riestellashops r reopening but stay home & stay safe ##stayhome ##stayathome ##wfh ##gamesathome♬ original sound – karishmak_

Initially, I was admittedly sceptical of this method, but results were surprisingly pleasant, receiving about 2-3 times more views than other videos.

3) Shares

As TikTok prioritises shares relatively highly on their algorithm, it would be wise to optimise content for this purpose by following a style of TikToks that calls on viewers to share and send the video to friends with the listed specific qualities and/or personality traits.

@riestellaperiodt ##tiktokaustralia ##tiktoksingapore ##whatatimetobealive ##sendthistosomeone ##sendthistoyourbestfriend ##sendit♬ original sound – riestella

Unfortunately, this post didn’t gain as much traction as expected. I believe this strategy might have worked better in conjunction with the previous two.

In my next report, I will be sharing tweaks that I made according to my findings from Assignment #4, and summing up the project.

Word count: 508 words.

My Prototype

Week 4 Report

Week 5 Report

Week 6 Report

Week 7 Report

Week 8 Report

In this week’s report, I will be skimming through a summary of my findings.

1) Post timing is irrelevant

While I find it difficult to gauge the effect post frequency has, it is safe to assume that post timing is out of the picture, as shown in the above screengrabs. The first screengrab shows my video views from the same night I posted them, and the second, from the morning after. To elaborate, I checked back on my videos throughout the night, but they did not fare well. In fact, they were my least viewed TikToks and I was ready to assume that post frequency was irrelevant (as I had posted 4 times that day). The next morning, however, the views had skyrocketed by up to 200 views, and are now some of my most viewed TikToks.

2) Proximity is vital

As I was targeting mainly Australians and Singaporeans, or more specifically, Singaporeans in Australia, I geotagged my location as Melbourne and used the hashtags #tiktoksingapore and #tiktokaustralia. The link between proximity and popularity is unclear, but the above screenshot of my analytics prove that geotagging helps a great deal with engaging one’s target audience.

To wrap up, the key factors that I find contribute the most to the making of popular TikTok content are discoverability, aesthetics, and timeliness.

Word Count: 215

As the end of the experimenting with my social media prototype draws near, I find myself learning more about the hashtag mechanics on TikTok.

While hashtags do help with increasing one’s discoverability, it seems that the TikTok algorithm tends to avoid promoting posts that are riddled with hashtags. That is not to say that hashtags should not be used at all, though; they should be used extremely sparingly. For instance, my earlier TikToks, which include only 3-4 hashtags, received more views and likes, as compared to my more recent TikToks, which include 5-6 hashtags.

To add, I came across a TikTok creator who experimented with the use of hashtags. He uploaded this same TikTok twice – one with a caption and hashtags, and the other without, asking users to like and comment on the post that they came across first. The post without a caption was received with more likes and comments, proving that the infamous #fyp or #foryoupage hashtag, that creators use to get on users’ news feeds, does practically nothing.

On the other hand, hashtags can receive upwards of a billion views, so it would also be wise to stay updated on trending hashtags and incorporate them into one’s content. This is also a good way to kill two key factors with one stone — timeliness and discoverability.

In short, it would be wise to simply omit the aforementioned hashtags, as they do not aid in promoting content to news feeds, and stick to using 2-3 of the most relevant hashtags possible.

Word count: 254 words.

In this week’s production report, I would like to revise and add on more key factors that might contribute to the makings of a popular TikTok post. I have already considered timeliness, proximity, and the element of surprise. This week, I’ll be adding:

1) Discoverability
There are a couple of ways to increase discoverability on TikTok, namely, the use of hashtags and popular “sounds”.

Hashtags are used more sparingly on TikTok as compared to Instagram, with creators incorporating only about 4-5 hashtags in their captions at most. However, users often use hashtags to find specific content that they’re looking for, and as such, using hashtags in one’s captions could lend a hand with increasing views.

Meanwhile “sounds” are essentially audio files on TikTok that can be reused by other creators. They can be snippets of either songs or original audio recordings from TikTok creators. Typically when a certain “sound” goes viral, TikTok users will flock to this section to browse through the content that’s been created using this “sound”. As such, using a certain “sound” that’s already gone viral, could increase one’s chances of being discovered.

2) Aesthetics
As I scroll through TikTok, I realise that most of the videos that do well have, at the very least, decent lighting. It is not a requirement to have an extremely aesthetically pleasing background in order to do well, but the TikTok algorithm does seem to favour good lighting, and as such, it would help with increasing one’s visibility.

3) Post Frequency and Timing
According to the Sensis data, most use social media in the evening, first thing in the morning, and during work breaks or lunchtime. As such, I plan to upload 2-3 times a day, during these high-traffic hours.

Word count: 286

In last week’s production report, I laid down the possible key factors that contribute to the makings of a popular TikTok video. This week, I reflect on the content pillars I will be experimenting with in my prototype.

1) Comedic Skits
Comedic skits are rather self-explanatory; creators act out scripted sketches that are injected with their personal brand of humour, at times based off a snippet of a well-known song.

2) “Crackhead” Videos
“Crackhead” videos are the more unpremeditated relative of comedic skits. While skits have some form of structure and sense to them, “crackhead” videos, though just as humorous, are more nonsensical, almost as if the content creator is on crack (or some other form of drug), hence the name “crackhead” videos.

3) Dance Covers
Because dance covers are the mainstay of TikTok, I felt it only apt to incorporate them into my prototype’s production plan.

4) Pet Videos
The pet community on TikTok is on the up and up. With this, comes the opportunity to include my pet kitten in videos.

It is possible to mix two content pillars together, which I will also take into consideration for my prototype. For example, TikTok creator Abramengle merges two types of content – pet and dancing – together, as shown in this video.

Word count: 207 words.

The question I would like to explore for Assignment 2 is as follows: What are the key factors to creating popular content on TikTok?

In Assignment 1, I concluded that there is no hard formula for creating viral content, which makes the strategy a challenge to pursue and successfully incorporate into any marketing plan.

Given the sizeable reach potential this strategy has, it might be worth exploring any key factors that contribute to the makings of a viral post, but I felt that it was not feasible for a short 5-week experiment, and is why I have decided to delve into a similar, yet more practical, path.

My social media account will be targeted to teenagers and young adults, aged 18-30, residing in Melbourne and Singapore.

Right off the bat, some factors I can think of, that I will take into consideration for my production plan are:

1) Timeliness
Or more commonly known as trends. In this digital age, trends come and go faster than one could expect. Especially in the context of TikTok, a certain dance could be trending for a mere two weeks, and subsequently forgotten about. To add, dances are not the only form of text on TikTok that has the ability to go viral; comedic parodies of aforementioned dances, as well as skits to go with a well-established song, could do so, too.

2) Proximity
TikTok seems to filter out the content on users’ news feeds according to their location. As such, creating content that is relatable to users that are close in proximity could help with increasing one’s views and likes. A good way to target these users is through the use of geotagging.

3) The Element of Surprise
Almost everything and anything has been done on TikTok. An element of surprise could undeniably help to capture the audience’s attention.

Word count: 299 words

Post 1

Post 2

Post 3

Post 3: How will your own work in this studio be informed by your understandings of social media, the data from the Sensis surveys and your examples of social media mentioned above?

Data from the Sensis surveys are extremely helpful in highlighting the differences in social media usage across various demographics, and will certainly be useful when deciding specifics of a social media strategy, including, but not limited to, suitable platforms to use, post timings, and posting frequency.

For instance, the Sensis report shows clearly that females use social networking sites more frequently per day as compared to males. As such, a business targeting males would post on social media less often per day, as compared to a business targeting females.

Another concept to keep in mind is that these days, traditional media is often intertwined with social media. For instance, news sites quote and cite social media sources through platforms like Twitter and Instagram (Hunsinger & Senft 2013). This is another concept to keep in mind when it comes to brainstorming viral content in relation to the previous post; viral social media marketing strategies like guerrilla marketing need not only target social media users, but can also reach further to traditional media audiences.

Besides that, when organising a social media post, it is wise to adhere to an image or layout that is easy to read or understand, and include a clear call-to-action where necessary, as shown in the Straits Times social media example. Its graphic was clean-cut and easy to read, and as a result, was concise and effective in conveying the key details, which will be more appealing to audiences.

The Sensis report also shows that 74% of people use smartphones to access social media. This is important to keep in mind when developing work for this studio, as the content produced will have to be compatible – easy to load, read, and see – with mobile devices. Reflecting upon it, this means that images should not only be compressed so as to allow for quicker loading, but also be cropped to mobile-friendly dimensions. For instance, on Instagram, from a marketing standpoint, it would be more wise to utilise a portrait orientation when posting pictures as it takes up more space on the mobile phone, thus capturing the audience’s attention more easily.

Word count: 350 words